Crystal Patterns
by MusicMadtm
Summary: "No two snowflakes ever look the same, you know." One-shot for AdderClan: Snow


**Another one-shot, for AdderClan again. Read, review and enjoy!**

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Songkit wriggled in her nest, trying to get comfortable. Soon, she realised that she wasn't going to get to sleep. _Maybe it's dawn already. _Blinking open her eyes, she wriggled out of her nest, trying not to disturb Frostpetal and Thrushkit. _Huh? _The den looked strange. A bright silvery light was filtering in through the stongly woven branches of the ShadowClan nursery, making Songkit squint into the sudden brightness. Carefully, she ventured out of the den. _Oof! _Songkit squeaked in surprise. Straight away, Songkit fell into a deep drift of… well, what was it? Clawing her way out back to the nursery entrance, Songkit sat on solid ground and dabbed her paw in the substance, then squealed and took her paw away sharply. _It's cold! _Songkit gently parted the stuff with one careful claw and watched the way it fell and crumbled around her paw, turning to water as it clung to the fluffy fur around her claw sheaths. Songkit cocked her head in confusion. _What a strange thing! _Songkit decided to investigate. But, of course, not after a juicy piece of fresh-kill! Diving into the lake of whiteness, Songkit half dragged herself, half swam through the clearing, her short white-and-ginger fur acting as a useless barrier against the penetrating cold.

Finally, Songkit made it to the fresh-kill pile, where a small clearance of the white stuff had been made to uncover the fresh-kill. Licking her lips, the small kit picked out a small lizard and settled down beside the pile on a patch of half-clear ground. She sat and surveyed the clearing. Not many cats were up yet; Songkit guessed the dawn patrol had left not long ago.

Seedstar emerged from his den, stretching each wiry brown limb in turn, then hopped nimbly through the snow until he reached the fresh-kill pile. When he spotted Songkit sitting by the pile, soggy and dripping with water, his gaze lit up with amusement.

"First time in the snow, Songkit?" He purred.

Songkit's eyes widened. "So this is snow!" She meowed in wonder. "I understand now. It must have been falling all night to get this much!"

Seedstar nodded, licking some of the snowmelt off the bedraggled kit. "It was snowing heavily all last night," he mewed between licks, "And it looks like it might start again." The brown tom looked warily up to the sky at the darkening grey clouds with a slight yellowish tint. Songkit gazed at the sky, following his gaze, her eyes widening as she took in the endless horizon above her. A single white dot drifted down from the sky and floated to the soft ground right in front of Songkit's eyes. "Wow!" She meowed, full of wonder. "Was that a snow? It's so pretty!"

Seedstar chuckled at the naïve kit. "One of those is called a snowflake, Songkit. No two snowflakes ever look the same, you know. They're all individual, like Clan cats." Songkit looked up admiringly at her father. He was a good cat. She was glad her and Thrushkit had him for their father.

Songkit sat by the fresh-kill pile for a few moments with Seedstar, watching as the snowflakes fell more and more and got bigger and bigger. Soon, she could stand it no longer and jumped to her paws, rolling and dancing in the fallen and falling snow with the unique playfulness of a kit enjoying its first snowfall. Seedstar soon joined her, hurling wads of snow at each other and fishing Songkit out of drifts. Frostpetal soon emerged from the nursery with Thrushkit, and soon the whole family were tumbling around in the pure white covering of the clearing, denting and diving into the unbroken surface.

After most of ShadowClan had joined in the frolic and had been rolling in the snow for some time, Seedstar finally stood up and shook off the snow from his pelt, leaving his fur flat and matted. "We must send out our patrols now, ShadowClan. Lilyflight, can you arrange the patrols, please?" One by one, the cats of ShadowClan got up, shook themselves out and got on with their duties, leaving just Songkit and Thrushkit alone in the clearing, playing in the remaining snow. They rolled and fought for some time, never tiring or getting too wet or cold. When the dawn patrol returned to camp, Olwpaw and Rainpaw joined in with the game, which had turned into a more organized thing.

Kestrelpaw padded into the camp and joined the young cats tumbling in the snow. "Can I join in?" She asked. Rainpaw untangled herself from Owlpaw and turned to Kestrelpaw.

"Sure. You join Songkit's team with the caught. We have two teams, the chasers and the caught. We each have to throw the snow at each other. If you get hit from the shoulders to the top of your leg, then you're out and have to stand still with your tail up. When some cat on your team runs under your tail, you can move again. Me and Thruskit are the chasers."

The two kits and three apprentices were soon all hurling snow at each other, squealing and shouting in delight.

"Ouch!" Thrushkit stopped abruptly and held up her foreleg with an indignant look at Rainpaw. "You scratched me!" A long, shallow gash trailed down Thrushkit's brown speckled fur. Songkit watched as a single drop of blood fell onto the snow and blossomed into the clean whiteness, spreading into a crystalline snowflake-like pattern.

_No two drops of blood are the same, as every Clan cat is individual._


End file.
